- Running Around the Fire
- Informant Data: Ayana Whitmal is a 20-year-old, female, sophomore (’18) who attends Dartmouth College. She was born in Amherst Massachusetts, and she now resides in Hanover, New Hampshire during the school year.
- Type of lore: Customary; Genre: Ritual
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: US
- Contextual Data: Ayana Whitmal attends Dartmouth College and has experienced this ritual herself.
- Item: Every year during homecoming, the school puts together a massive bonfire in the middle of their outside common space: The Green. The freshmen class runs around the bonfire 100 times plus their class year. Often, however, freshmen will decide to do a different number of laps, such as two digits of their class year. The freshmen will run around in a cordoned off area. The general student body can participate as well; most of the students cheer and yell at the freshmen as they run. Also, every year, alumni and anyone who was ever a part of the Dartmouth community have the option of attending the bonfire. However, the ritual of running around the bonfire is primarily designated for the freshman class.
- N/A
- Informant’s comments: People, particularly freshmen, go through it in order to gain an experience or knowledge that everyone else in the community already has
- Collector’s comments: This ritual is significant because it is a way for the Dartmouth community to incorporate the freshmen into their world. It is something that bonds the community together even more than the acceptance letters that all incoming Dartmouth students receive. The ritual is a way for the Dartmouth community to impart their own meaning on what it means to be accepted into the community.
- Ritual, Bonfire
All of the actors portraying runners underwent a gruelling three-month training intensive with renowned running coach Tom McNab. This training and isolation of the actors also created a strong bond and sense of camaraderie among them.